Bullish (NYSE: BLSH), the institutional-grade digital asset exchange, announced Tuesday it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Equiniti, a leading global transfer agent, in a transaction valued at $4.2 billion.
The deal, which is being acquired from private equity firm Siris Capital, represents one of the largest bets yet on the future of tokenized securities in mainstream capital markets.
The transaction is structured as $1.85 billion in assumed Equiniti debt and approximately $2.35 billion in Bullish stock consideration. Bullish shares fell 7% in premarket trading following the announcement.
What Each Side Brings
The logic behind the deal rests on combining two complementary sets of capabilities.
Bullish contributes its blockchain-native offering covering token design, issuance, operation, compliance, and liquidity provisioning while Equiniti brings something every listed company in most major markets is required to have: a regulated transfer agent.
Equiniti currently serves nearly 3,000 issuer clients, 15,000 total corporate clients, and 20 million shareholders, processing $500 billion in annual payments.
That scale gives Bullish an immediate foothold in the regulated infrastructure layer of global capital markets, something it could not have built organically in any reasonable timeframe.
Together, the combination is designed to create what Bullish calls the first fully integrated blockchain-enabled, blue-chip issuer services provider.
What It Means for Investors and Issuers
The practical benefits of the combined entity, if realised, could be significant.
Issuers stand to gain real-time cap table visibility, a meaningful upgrade from the days or weeks of lag typical in traditional registries along with automated corporate actions and broader investor access.
Investors, meanwhile, would gain the ability to engage in 24/7 transactions, instant settlement, and frictionless asset movement.
Bullish also intends to provide secondary trading infrastructure for eligible tokenized equities outside the US, serving non-US investors seeking liquidity in tokenized shares and bridging certificated and tokenized markets.
Financial Projections
The combined company is expected to generate approximately $1.3 billion in adjusted total revenue and more than $500 million in adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditure for 2026, with projected revenue growth of 6–8% annually through 2029 including 20% revenue growth from tokenization and blockchain services specifically.
A Market That’s Growing Fast
The deal arrives as tokenized securities shift from a niche experiment into a serious asset class.
The total market capitalisation of tokenized stocks grew more than 50 times in 2025 alone, surging from under $30 million in early 2025 to over $700 million by December.
That figure remains a fraction of global equity markets, but the trajectory is drawing serious institutional attention.
Citi analysts project that tokenized securities could reach $4–5 trillion by 2030, and regulatory conditions are increasingly supportive.
In March, the SEC approved Nasdaq’s proposal to trade tokenized securities alongside traditional shares, with settlement through the Depository Trust Company the clearest signal yet that tokenized equities are entering mainstream market infrastructure.
Regulatory Hurdles Remain
The deal is not without risk. Closing is expected in January 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.
Tokenized securities operate across multiple jurisdictions with varying rules, and the path to harmonised oversight remains uneven.
Technical risks inherent to blockchain infrastructure, combined with ongoing market volatility in digital assets, add further complexity.
Bullish’s acquisition of Equiniti is, nonetheless, a clear signal that the infrastructure layer of tokenized finance is being built in earnest and that the institutions doing the building are no longer just experimenting.
